Exploring the intersections of social class, education and identity

I’ve been reading a great deal lately about the experiences of first-generation college students. So much of this literature speaks of the personal deficits of these students and their families(though this may be couched in academic language of “cultural capital” or other obscure terms that still place blame for low retention rates on the students).

So programs like this as so important. Ensuring that students have the money they need to stay in college means that those students have the time (and energy) to demonstrate that many of the assumptions about them are wrong.

And, stories like this make visible the many obstacles to equitable education — far and beyond students’ own personal “capital’.

“Elizabeth Mason, the CEO and co-founder of Single Stop, said that just $300 per student can “seismically shift retention and graduation rates.” That’s because many students face “heartbreaking choices” between buying groceries and staying in college”.